A young Abigail Adams is reached out to by her younger nephew, Horace Thaxter, after a threat on his life. Abigail travels to Harvard in Cambridge to see him and investigate. It seems that Horace's love for foreign tongues has brought him unfriendly attention. Reading Horace's account as he tells it to Abigail I feel as bemused as she must, with my eyebrow arching higher and higher. A mysterious lady with false credentials and scary henchmen hires Horace to translate something from Arabic, something to do with pirate treasure.

Horace's classmates, Loyalist George Fairfield and Indian Weyountah, join with him and Abigail to solve the case. That is until George is murdered. Now there is a new case for Abigail to solve.

SUP WITH THE DEVIL is an Abigail Adams Mystery by Barbara Hamilton. SUP WITH THE DEVIL is set before the Revolutionary War, right after the Boston Tea Party when the Sons of Liberty are doing everything they can to stir up trouble. One thing I have learned from SUP WITH THE DEVIL is that throughout time men and teenage boys do not change.

Barbara Hamilton takes care to create the feeling of being there by Abigail Adams' side. Her use of the period's vernacular sets just the right tone. Barbara wraps you into her story with intrigue and then hits you with action. George Fairfield's death was mentioned so abruptly and in such a matter-of-fact way that it shocked me.

SUP WITH THE DEVIL is a thrilling historical mystery with a smart and brave woman at the helm who understands how not to bruise the egos of men.